Influence of Cu(II) in the SrSnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> crystallization

Perovskite type oxides have been intensively studied due to their interesting optical, electrical, and catalytic properties. Among perovskites the alkaline earth stannates stand out, being strontium stannates (SrSnO₃) the most important material in ceramic technology among them due to their wide application as dielectric component. SrSnO₃ has also been applied as stable capacitor and humidity sensor. In the present work, SrSnO₃:Cu was synthesized by polymeric precursor method and heat treated at 700, 800, and 900 °C for 4 h. After that, the material was characterized by thermal analysis (TG/DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy, and UV–vis spectroscopy. Results indicated three thermal decomposition steps and confirmed the presence of strontium carbonate and Cu²⁺ reduction to Cu⁺ at higher dopant amounts. XRD patterns indicated that the perovskite crystallization started at 700 °C with strontiatite (SrCO₃) and cassiterite (SnO₂) as intermediate phases, disappearing at higher temperatures. The amount of secondary phase was reduced with the increase in the Cu concentration.     

Azaphenanthrene alkaloids with antitumoral activity from Anaxagorea dolichocarpa Sprague & Sandwith (Annonaceae)

Phytochemical investigation of Anaxagorea dolichocarpa Sprague & Sandwith led to isolation of three azaphenanthrene alkaloids: eupolauramine, sampangine and imbiline 1. Their chemical structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic data from IR, HR-ESI-MS, NMR (including 2D experiments) and comparison with the literature. Sampangine and imbiline 1 are being described in the Anaxagorea genus for the first time. Eupolauramine and sampangine show concentration-dependent antitumoral activity in leukemic cells K562 with IC(50) of 18.97 and 10.95 μg/mL, respectively.     

Antimicrobial activities of indole alkaloids from Tabernaemontana catharinensis

Tabernaemontana catharinensis root bark ethanol extract, EB2 fraction and the MMV alkaloid (12-methoxy-4-methylvoachalotine) were evaluated for their antimicrobial activities. T. catharinensis ethanol extract was effective against both strains of the dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum at concentrations of 2.5 mg/mL (wild strain) and 1.25 mg/mL (mutant strain), while the EB2 fraction and MMV alkaloid showed a strong antifungal activity against wild and mutant strains with MIC values of <0.02 and 0.16 mg/mL, respectively. The EB2 fraction showed a strong antibacterial activity against ATCC strains of S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. coli and P. aeruginosa with MICs from <0.02 to 0.04 mg/mL, as well as against resistant clinical isolates species of Enterococcus sp, Klebsiella oxytoca, Citrobacter, K. pneumoniae, P. mirabilis, S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. coli and P. aeruginosa with MIC values ranging from 0.04 to 0.08 mg/mL. The MMV alkaloid presented a MIC of 0.16 mg/mL against the strains of S. aureus and E. coli ATCC. For the resistant clinical isolates Enterococcus sp, Citrobacter, S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. coli and P. aeruginosa the MIC of MMV ranged from 0.08 to 0.31 mg/mL. The chromatography analysis of the EB2 fraction revealed the presence of indole alkaloids, including MMV, possibly responsible for the observed antimicrobial activity.     

Phase transition in an occupationally disordered sulfate system

We have investigated the behavior of the Li_1.43Cs_0.57SO₄ single-crystal Raman spectra and dielectric permittivity as a function of temperature. It was observed that the crystal, which is an occupationally disordered system, with orthorhombic C_2v² structure at room temperature, undergoes a phase transition at 230 K. In the new phase the SO₄ tetrahedra remain in two non-equivalent sites and there is no evidence of the doubling of the unit cell.     

Scattering Parameters of FSS on Anisotropic Layers at Millimeter Wave Frequencies

The analysis of periodic structures on anisotropic substrates is presented for incident millimeter waves. Frequency selective surface structures composed by a periodic array of conducting crossed dipoles on anisotropic layers are analyzed. A full-wave analysis for the problem of scattering is performed. The formulation uses the moment method in combination with the immitance approach, in the Fourier domain, to determine the scattering parameters of the considered structures. A set of entire-domain type basis functions is used in the expansion for the unknown induced current. This analysis is computationally efficient, and its accuracy is verified by the agreement between results obtained in this work and those available in the literature, for particular cases.     

Comparative study of the electronic structure of conjugated polymers

We compare the electronic structures of trans-polyacetylene, poly - (p-phenylene), polypyrrole and polythiophene, computed by an Extended Hückel crystalline orbital scheme. Similarities in the valence and conduction densities of states are analyzed in terms of the connectivity of the different systems.     

PUVA-Induced Cell Mortality in NCTC 2544 Keratinocytes: Is It Related to the Microenvironmental Properties of the Excited States of Psoralens?

The phototoxic effect of psoralen (PSO), 5-methoxypsoralen (5MOP), 8-methoxypsoralen (8MOP) and 4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen (TMP) has been compared on the NCTC 2544 keratinocyte cell line in terms of cell mortality and lipid peroxidation. The order of effectiveness for cell photokilling is TMP, 5MOP >> 8MOP, PSO, whereas a little lipid peroxidation is observed for the four psoralens under study. Oxygen-independent membrane damage seem to play a key role in the lethal photodamage because the biological effectiveness of the most hydrophobic lipid-soluble psoralens, TMP and 5MOP, is about an order of magnitude higher than that of the more water-soluble 8MOP and PSO. In relation to this hypothesis, and in contrast to 8MOP, TMP is readily extracted from cells by ethyl acetate, a good membrane solvent, as shown by GC/MS analysis on cell extracts. The results are discussed in terms of the highly microenvironment-dependent photophysical properties of psoralens. By the measure of the intracellular psoralen concentration, the neutral red uptake and the lipid peroxidation products, this work provides evidence that PUVA therapy-mediated cell mortality is a lipid peroxidation-independent phenomenon.